Autobiographical Writings

Intimate glimpses into the life of Mark Twain that only he himself could offer. Born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, Samuel Langhorne Clemens first signed the pseudonym ‘Mark Twain’ to a Nevada newspaper article in 1863 and soon made that name famous. In 1869, he entered the realm of book authorship with The Innocents Abroad, launching what would become one of the most celebrated careers in American letters. This selection of Mark Twain’s autobiographical writings affords readers a lively and revealing portrait of the literary giant, making it a must for every fan of the genius who gave the world Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and other classics. This edition features an introduction by the noted Mark Twain scholar R. Kent Rasmussen, who has added suggestions for further reading, a chronology, and a detailed glossary of names and terms appearing in the texts. ‘A man’s experiences of life are a book, and there was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy.’ Mark Twain, ‘The Refuge of the Derelicts,’ 1904-05